LGBTQ+ Romantic Relationships
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0179
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 28 April 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0179
Introduction
Research on romantic relationships among lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, and queer (LGBTQ+) self-identified individuals is a relatively new area. Note that for the purposes of this entry, the term trans* is used in research to refer to transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals (which group is specified when relevant). Queer is a modern umbrella term used to represent a range of sexual orientations and gender identities. Research with the queer-identified community is rare but beginning to grow. First, this article reviews the common books and journals that address the topic of LGBTQ+ relationships. Second, it reviews the law and policy, both in the United States and internationally, that surround same-sex relationship recognition and current societal attitudes. Third, it reviews the research on the creation, function, and dynamics of LGBTQ+ romantic relationships. Finally, it discusses the role of these relationships in the context of parenting and ends with conflict and relationship dissolution. Since the early 21st century there has been a drastic shift in support of legal recognition of same-sex couples. The research on LGBTQ+ romantic relationships has found consistent similarities to different-sex or heterosexual couples, as well as some unique strengths and challenges. Much of the research has focused on lesbian women and gay men, with very little attention on bisexual, trans*, and queer people. The research on trans* individuals, in particular, often consists of extremely small samples and lacks rigorous data collection and statistical analyses. This article attempts to address the relationships of all LGBTQ+ people and specifies the population examined for each article in the commentary. In sum, this entry reviews the current research on and knowledge of romantic relationships among LGBTQ+ individuals.
Books
Many books that discuss LGBTQ+ romantic relationships are of the self-help genre, and very few are empirical reviews. Garnets and Kimmel 2003 and Patterson and D’Augelli 2012 explore the topic of the psychology of sexual orientation and gender identity, and both have specific chapters dedicated to the romantic relationships of LGBTQ+ individuals. The book Hunter 2011 reviews the empirical research on gay and lesbian romantic relationships. Badgett 2010 and Carrington 1999, by contrast, contain collections of interviews with same-sex couples. Very few books focus directly on the romantic relationships of bisexual or trans* individuals. Fugere, et al. 2014 explores attraction and romantic relationships of all couples, intertwining LGB people’s experiences throughout.
Badgett, M. V. Lee. 2010. When gay people get married: What happens when societies legalize same-sex marriage. New York: NYU.
This book describes the experiences of Dutch same-sex couples living in the Netherlands and, specifically, their reasons to marry (or not), the impact of marriage on them and their community, and the contemporary status of the same-sex marriage debate.
Carrington, Christopher. 1999. No place like home: Relationships and family life among lesbians and gay men. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226094847.001.0001
This book is a collection of case studies and in-depth interviews of gay and lesbian couples in the California Bay Area. These interviews describe the daily experiences of couples, ranging from how they share daily chores to how they spend their free time.
Erickson-Schroth, Laura, ed. 2014. Trans bodies, trans selves: A resource for the transgender community. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
This book is an easily accessible and readable guide for trans* and gender-nonconforming people, written by transgender and gender-nonconforming authors. This book includes specific chapters on intimate relationships and sexuality.
Fugere, Madeline, Jennifer Leszczynski, and Alita Cousins. 2014. The social psychology of attraction and romantic relationships. New York: Palgrave Macmillian.
This book explores the experiences of attraction and romantic relationships of all individuals. The authors weave research on LGB couples into the discussion of heterosexual couples.
Garnets, Linda, and Douglas Kimmel, eds. 2003. Psychological perspectives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual experiences. 2d ed. New York: Columbia Univ. Press.
This book is a general review of psychological issues in the lives of LGB individuals. A section of the book specifically addresses relationships among LGB individuals, along with discussions of related topics, throughout the book.
Hunter, Ski. 2011. Lesbian and gay couples: Lives, issues, and practice. Chicago: Lyceum.
This book reviews the experiences of lesbian and gay adults in relationships and the impact of heterosexism and the marriage debate on these couples.
Patterson, Charlotte J., and Anthony R. D’Augelli, eds. 2012. Handbook of psychology and sexual orientation. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
This book is a culmination of the current psychological research on sexual orientation. Chapters are dedicated to research on same-sex romantic relationships and related topics. See also the chapter Fingerhut and Peplau 2012, cited under Empirical Reviews.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Abnormal Psychology
- Academic Assessment
- Acculturation and Health
- Action Regulation Theory
- Action Research
- Addictive Behavior
- Adolescence
- Adoption, Social, Psychological, and Evolutionary Perspect...
- Adulthood
- Advanced Theory of Mind
- Affective Forecasting
- Affirmative Action
- Ageism
- Ageism at Work
- Aggression
- Allport, Gordon
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Ambulatory Assessment in Behavioral Science
- Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
- Anger
- Animal Behavior
- Animal Learning
- Anxiety Disorders
- Art and Aesthetics, Psychology of
- Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Psychology
- Assessment and Clinical Applications of Individual Differe...
- Attachment in Social and Emotional Development across the ...
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Adults
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Childre...
- Attitudes
- Attitudinal Ambivalence
- Attraction in Close Relationships
- Attribution Theory
- Authoritarian Personality
- Autism
- Bayesian Statistical Methods in Psychology
- Behavior Therapy, Rational Emotive
- Behavioral Economics
- Behavioral Genetics
- Belief Perseverance
- Bereavement and Grief
- Biological Psychology
- Birth Order
- Body Image in Men and Women
- Burnout
- Bystander Effect
- Categorical Data Analysis in Psychology
- Childhood and Adolescence, Peer Victimization and Bullying...
- Clark, Mamie Phipps
- Clinical Neuropsychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Consistency Theories
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Communication, Nonverbal Cues and
- Comparative Psychology
- Competence to Stand Trial: Restoration Services
- Competency to Stand Trial
- Computational Psychology
- Conflict Management in the Workplace
- Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience
- Consciousness
- Coping Processes
- Correspondence Analysis in Psychology
- Counseling Psychology
- Courage
- Creativity
- Creativity at Work
- Critical Thinking
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Cultural Psychology
- Daily Life, Research Methods for Studying
- Data Science Methods for Psychology
- Data Sharing in Psychology
- Death and Dying
- Deceiving and Detecting Deceit
- Defensive Processes
- Depression
- Depressive Disorders
- Development, Prenatal
- Developmental Psychology (Cognitive)
- Developmental Psychology (Social)
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM...
- Discrimination
- Disgust
- Dissociative Disorders
- Drugs and Behavior
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Psychology
- Ecopsychology
- Educational Settings, Assessment of Thinking in
- Effect Size
- Embodiment and Embodied Cognition
- Emerging Adulthood
- Emotion
- Emotional Intelligence
- Empathy and Altruism
- Employee Stress and Well-Being
- Environmental Neuroscience and Environmental Psychology
- Ethics in Psychological Practice
- Event Perception
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Expansive Posture
- Experimental Existential Psychology
- Exploratory Data Analysis
- Eyewitness Testimony
- Eysenck, Hans
- Factor Analysis
- Festinger, Leon
- Five-Factor Model of Personality
- Flynn Effect, The
- Forensic Psychology
- Forgiveness
- Friendships, Children's
- Fundamental Attribution Error/Correspondence Bias
- Gambler's Fallacy
- Game Theory and Psychology
- Geropsychology, Clinical
- Global Mental Health
- Habit Formation and Behavior Change
- Happiness
- Health Psychology
- Health Psychology Research and Practice, Measurement in
- Heider, Fritz
- Heuristics and Biases
- History of Psychology
- Human Factors
- Humanistic Psychology
- Humor
- Hypnosis
- Implicit Association Test (IAT)
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Inferential Statistics in Psychology
- Insanity Defense, The
- Intelligence
- Intelligence, Crystallized and Fluid
- Intercultural Psychology
- Intergroup Conflict
- International Classification of Diseases and Related Healt...
- International Psychology
- Interviewing in Forensic Settings
- Intimate Partner Violence, Psychological Perspectives on
- Introversion–Extraversion
- Item Response Theory
- Kurtosis
- Language
- Laughter
- Law, Psychology and
- Lazarus, Richard
- Leadership
- Learned Helplessness
- Learning Theory
- Learning versus Performance
- LGBTQ+ Romantic Relationships
- Lie Detection in a Forensic Context
- Life-Span Development
- Lineups
- Locus of Control
- Loneliness and Health
- Mathematical Psychology
- Meaning in Life
- Mechanisms and Processes of Peer Contagion
- Media Violence, Psychological Perspectives on
- Mediation Analysis
- Meditation
- Memories, Autobiographical
- Memories, Flashbulb
- Memories, Repressed and Recovered
- Memory, False
- Memory, Human
- Memory, Implicit versus Explicit
- Memory in Educational Settings
- Memory, Semantic
- Meta-Analysis
- Metacognition
- Metamemory
- Metaphor, Psychological Perspectives on
- Microaggressions
- Military Psychology
- Mindfulness
- Mindfulness and Education
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
- Money, Psychology of
- Moral Conviction
- Moral Development
- Moral Psychology
- Moral Reasoning
- Motivation
- Music
- Narcissism
- Narrative
- Nature versus Nurture Debate in Psychology
- Neuroscience of Associative Learning
- Nonergodicity in Psychology and Neuroscience
- Nonparametric Statistical Analysis in Psychology
- Observational (Non-Randomized) Studies
- Obsessive-Complusive Disorder (OCD)
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Older Workers
- Olfaction, Human
- Operant Conditioning
- Optimism and Pessimism
- Organizational Justice
- Parenting Stress
- Parenting Styles
- Parents' Beliefs about Children
- Path Models
- Peace Psychology
- Perception
- Perception, Person
- Performance Appraisal
- Personality and Health
- Personality Disorders
- Personality Psychology
- Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies: From Car...
- Phenomenological Psychology
- Placebo Effects in Psychology
- Play Behavior
- Positive Psychological Capital (PsyCap)
- Positive Psychology
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Prejudice and Stereotyping
- Pretrial Publicity
- Prisoner's Dilemma
- Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Procrastination
- Prosocial Behavior
- Prosocial Spending and Well-Being
- Protocol Analysis
- Psycholinguistics
- Psychological Literacy
- Psychological Perspectives on Food and Eating
- Psychology, Political
- Psychoneuroimmunology
- Psychophysics, Visual
- Psychotherapy
- Psychotic Disorders
- Publication Bias in Psychology
- Race
- Reasoning, Counterfactual
- Rehabilitation Psychology
- Relationships
- Reliability–Contemporary Psychometric Conceptions
- Religion, Psychology and
- Replication Initiatives in Psychology
- Research Methods
- Resilience
- Risk Taking
- Role of the Expert Witness in Forensic Psychology, The
- Rumination
- Sample Size Planning for Statistical Power and Accurate Es...
- Savoring
- Schizophrenic Disorders
- School Psychology
- School Psychology, Counseling Services in
- Self, Gender and
- Self, Psychology of the
- Self-Construal
- Self-Control
- Self-Deception
- Self-Determination Theory
- Self-Efficacy
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Monitoring
- Self-Regulation in Educational Settings
- Self-Report Tests, Measures, and Inventories in Clinical P...
- Sensation Seeking
- Sex and Gender
- Sexual Minority Parenting
- Sexual Orientation
- Signal Detection Theory and its Applications
- Simpson's Paradox in Psychology
- Single People
- Single-Case Experimental Designs
- Situational Strength
- Skinner, B.F.
- Sleep and Dreaming
- Small Groups
- Social Class and Social Status
- Social Cognition
- Social Neuroscience
- Social Support
- Social Touch and Massage Therapy Research
- Somatoform Disorders
- Spatial Attention
- Sports Psychology
- Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE): Icon and Controversy
- Stereotype Threat
- Stereotypes
- Stress and Coping, Psychology of
- Student Success in College
- Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis
- Suicide
- Taste, Psychological Perspectives on
- Teaching of Psychology
- Terror Management Theory
- Testing and Assessment
- The Concept of Validity in Psychological Assessment
- The Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation
- The Reasoned Action Approach and the Theories of Reasoned ...
- The Weapon Focus Effect in Eyewitness Memory
- Theory of Mind
- Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral
- Thinking Skills in Educational Settings
- Time Perception
- Trait Perspective
- Trauma Psychology
- Twin Studies
- Type A Behavior Pattern (Coronary Prone Personality)
- Unconscious Processes
- Video Games and Violent Content
- Virtues and Character Strengths
- Wisdom
- Women and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM...
- Women, Psychology of
- Work Well-Being
- Workforce Training Evaluation
- Wundt, Wilhelm